banshee370 Posted July 20, 2004 Report Share Posted July 20, 2004 Sredish: First off I HATE Norton's AV... Its one of the most resource hogging apps available. And I think it does a shitty job (My opinion) Almost every system/PC that I've had to repair for friends/customers and had Norton installed was a nightmare. I've seen virus' get past Norton and then its hosed. My wife's pc is used by friends and family and was always having issues. (people doing things they shouldnt) I've since installed McAffe, and its been trouble free. I would be very carefull transferring files to another pc. If your laptop is/was infected then you will just create more headaches for yourself. Make sure you scan all those files before you use them on a diff pc. Since Brook made this even harder on you, think of it this way. You were ready to drop 3k+ on a new Mac. You can either spend it, or not. Either way I wouldnt toss the laptop aside since you have $/time invested in it too. I also dont know what you mean about time/labor involved??? I would guess if you have everything you want backed up or removed from it, then my job would be easy. Normally it would take me a day or two to wipe/install/update/etc. Just because I am not a Mac person doesnt mean I would discount their worth. They all have their places. It sounds to me that with what you do a Mac may be the ticket. I personally wouldnt toss this laptop aside for a Mac tho. You could always have the best of both worlds. A Mac powerbook and this laptop Cheapest way out right now is to send the laptop over here. All its gonna cost ya is shipping and time. As for the ram test. Im sure you have 2 512meg strips. I would shut the pc down and remove one strip. then reboot. See how it acts/re acts to everything. If it locks up or starts acting funky, shut it down and remove that strip and try the other. I would let it sit for a few minutes in between reboots to cool off (so to speak) If the pc locks up and freeks out with one of the strips but not the other... then I would say you have a bad memory chip. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nater006 Posted July 20, 2004 Report Share Posted July 20, 2004 Even with good memory it could lock up on install if.... 1) you're installing over the top of the old Windows -- e.g., not formatting the drive first 2) the machine is overheating Overheating happens a lot on those buggers. Sometimes the fans just get worn out and can't get spun up.. you can spin them with your finger or a small screwdriver to get 'em going. My old Dell CPi (300mhz P2) ran like a champ -- but the fan wouldn't spin up sometimes. Locked up in a Linux install.. finally got it installed but couldn't do much else since it would overheat. Since it was a Pentium, I threw a new fan in and it was fine. AMD would have probably melted nicely. I, too, dislike Norton. Symantec makes some great products, but, i prefer McAfee over Norton. McAfee 7 is pretty good.. its what I run here on my work PC. Supposedly 8 is coming out soon and is even better. Another customization that will speed your machine up is the antivirus -- nobody writes viruses to infect certain types of files, so set them in the "exclude" list so it doesn't bog your machine when trying to open graphics files or similar. The 12.1 powerbooks are nice. If the thing with your laptop & Walter doesn't turn out, those 12.1's are really nice. I'm a bigger fan of those than of the regular full-sized Powerbooks. They're pretty robust too... not a lot of stupid plastic stuff to break off like Toshiba/HP/Compaq. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
initall Posted July 20, 2004 Report Share Posted July 20, 2004 BUY HP or IBM IBM makes the best stuff Dell uses parts that they can buy in at the lowest cost, they are a PC manufaturer IBM and HP are inovators the invest heavily into there technology, Dell invests in there marketing. HP and IBM are still larger than DELL. avcording to the Fortune 500 list. I can hook you up Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PolyKarbon Posted July 20, 2004 Report Share Posted July 20, 2004 I'll build you a pimp ass 'puter for cheap. Well, I think anyone can build a PC these days....but not everyone knows hardware. I KNOW HARDWARE! Oh yeah, I compare MAC's to four strokes and Windows to 2 strokes... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sredish Posted July 20, 2004 Author Report Share Posted July 20, 2004 (edited) Walt, I understand what your saying completely, and there is no way this computer is gone. I thought about replacing it last night, and I actually just like it too much. This idea of getting a Mac for my drawings and some work sounds like it's not a bad idea. I'm thinking of getting one, but I'm gonna sit on it for a day or two. Regardless, new comp or not, this one will be right here with me also. I've had it for for several years, and just too attached. This thing was smoking for an '02 computer. I've got Norton off of this computer, wouldn't let me put it back on last night, and I think I'm going to go get Mcafee today, to pull off whatever viruses I'm aquiring right now. But I don't know what good it'll do to try to install if I'm gonna reload. But I just can't seem to keep it from locking up. This morning, it's working fine so far for thirty minutes, but last night, it was really getting bad. What really gets me is it'll happen so sporadically, has nothing to do with what's open, whether or not my devices are enabled, whether or not the startup files are enabled. The only thing I can think of is when I seem to have more stuff open, but then that doesn't answer why it does it halfway through booting up. Maybe it does have something to do with the heat. This sucker gets hot, and I mean so hot I have to put a pillow or something between the computer and my lap. After working for an hour or so, the fan just comes on forever, it'll go off for a sec, but then it's right back on again. It's obviously not hot right now since I just booted up, and it's operating okay. What do I need to do to take this approach a step further. I don't really know how to get into this thing, I've tried and was afraid I'd break it. Walt, I believe I'll be sending it to ya regardless at this point in time, just a matter of when, but probably soon and I'll let you know. One more quick question, can you get Microsoft Visio for a Mac? Later. Edited July 20, 2004 by sredish Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nater006 Posted July 20, 2004 Report Share Posted July 20, 2004 I'll build you a pimp ass 'puter for cheap. Well, I think anyone can build a PC these days....but not everyone knows hardware. I KNOW HARDWARE! Oh yeah, I compare MAC's to four strokes and Windows to 2 strokes... In all harsh reality, the core of the Mac OS X is much better than Windows. Why you may ask? Do some reading about kernels.. recompiling.. customizing.. etc.. and the answer is right there. But, some of the software may seem slower. The harsh reality is that OS X is UNIX based and thus now very stable and nice. They have glitches -- who doesn't? But it is very powerful. Not that I'm a mac lover but... Windows is so not all it is cracked up to be. Windows.. aka The Security Afterthought. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nater006 Posted July 20, 2004 Report Share Posted July 20, 2004 BUY HP or IBM IBM makes the best stuff Dell uses parts that they can buy in at the lowest cost, they are a PC manufaturer IBM and HP are inovators the invest heavily into there technology, Dell invests in there marketing. HP and IBM are still larger than DELL. avcording to the Fortune 500 list. I can hook you up IBM is good. Dell is good. HP is nothing but proprietary garbage when it comes to their workstations and laptops. EVERYBODY uses cheap parts -- the difference is whether you're stuck buying a stupid combo modem/soundcard from HP because yours burned out, or whether you can buy a standard PCI modem or soundcard at any store to throw in your Dell. Compaq is the same as HP (same company now basically) but their high end servers are nice. No complaints about those. Plus, Dell's driver downloads on their site are 100% unparalleled. IBM is following closely. HP/Compaq? They tell you to go F yourself and use their restore discs -- crammed with MORE proprietary bullcrap software. You can't do a standalone driver download/install like you can with Dells. And, at least the Dell/Gateway machines don't use some stupid offbrand chipset for audio/vidio -- just Intel i8** series. Nothing whacked out. Dunno.. just my $.02. Dell may be the largest, but what you do NOT want with computers is proprietary hardware -- e.g., stuff you can't walk into a computer store or mail order from a billion different places. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sredish Posted July 20, 2004 Author Report Share Posted July 20, 2004 I've about got myself talked into trying out an Apple. I'm just ready to try something different I think. One of my customers has a nice Powerbook and he loves it. I don't really think the expense is justified, but my laptop is huge and heavy and seems to be hot all the time. My customer has the 15" and it's much much smaller and lighter, I know i can get that with a newer windows also, but whats the point of getting another windows machine. I have this one, and I'm sure with a little persuading, it'll be back up and going without much probs. I like the idea of going into something new and all new software options. I really haven't been too happy with the software I've been using, I don't really like AutoCad either. It seems I'm always looking for newer better software, never satisfied. Maybe with the Apple stuff, I can find something that will fit better. I've been browsing through a lot of the software. What I would need to have is and need to know where to find : Adobe Acrobat Adobe Photoshop Adobe GoLive Microsoft Office With the above, I can do a lot of what I need to do, and I'll find a good Mac CAD program. MacDraft seems to look okay for a cheapie. I don't really lik the idea of throwing another grand or two in software on top of the cost of the notebook, but we'll see. I was also looking at the Virtual PC and that looks like a decent way to get a little of what you need from windows if need be, but what about bringing in viruses and spyware, how would you protect from that, or is it not a good idea to present that into the mac environment? I'm starting to believe more that my comp probs are heat related. It's locked up three times today, and twice was when it had been on and the fan kicked on, then it locked, and the other was after those two locks, it wouldn't start up at all. So I left it for awhile and then came back and it started up. I have no idea how to fix a heat related problem. Later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
initall Posted July 20, 2004 Report Share Posted July 20, 2004 Sredish I can hook you up with a Mac or PC I sell at one of the largest PC resellers and the largest mac reseller. I sell to large companies everyday. let me know i can get you a good price. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nater006 Posted July 20, 2004 Report Share Posted July 20, 2004 (edited) I'm starting to believe more that my comp probs are heat related. Edited July 20, 2004 by nater006 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DUNEDEMON Posted July 20, 2004 Report Share Posted July 20, 2004 Sredish this caught my eye I don't really like AutoCad either What version are you running? (not that it makes much difference) and have you tried Solidworks? I like it much better than Autocad, terramodell isn't too shabby and may come in handy with the construction side of things. Just a thought... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sredish Posted July 20, 2004 Author Report Share Posted July 20, 2004 I'll plunk around with some thermal stuff later. I'm actually headed out the door. Demon, i'll get back to you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
banshee370 Posted July 20, 2004 Report Share Posted July 20, 2004 IBM or HP? Are you serious? The best? Best for what? This is home use remember. As much as I hate saying it... but I'd rather buy a Dell since if I at least have a hardware problem I can go anywhere to get a replacement part. Who the hell would want a propritary box that is an ass ache to get parts for? I guess thats why I custom build all my machines... Screw that name brand shit. Sredish: Whats the make/model of your laptop? I'll check to see if there are any common problems with it. In all the times you've installed/re-installed windoz has it been a full format or upgrade or install over an existing os? When ever your ready let me know and I'll take care of that machine for ya. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Duece Posted July 21, 2004 Report Share Posted July 21, 2004 I KNOW HARDWARE! Oh yeah, I compare MAC's to four strokes and Windows to 2 strokes... since windows has four instructions too every Macs two, i think you got it backwards Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Duece Posted July 21, 2004 Report Share Posted July 21, 2004 Sredish....you can also run virtual pc, its a mac program ( i have a "demo" version you could download) from my server, it will allow you to run any pc operating system on your mac, i run it on one of my macs and have 95/98 NT4.0 and windows XP all loaded on the same machine and can can pick which one i boot from and it runs perfect in windows with all the microsoft bullshit (including the anoying messages) and its never crashed yet, no blue screen shit, no BIOS to f*ck with, your cd reader will act like a pc reader all the windows drivers for usb will work, firewire works, and you can click out of it back into your Mac OS a mac you can reformat and reinstall your OS in about 15 minutes depending on how fast your cd reader is, you can still run OS9 or X, a mac can crash, mostly on start up with conflicting "inits" or what they now call "extenstions" but you can selectivly turn them off, no more .exe crap to hunt and hope through dont get me wrong im not bashing PC's , i use my mac as one all the time Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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